Man leaps to death after killing wife

A mentally ill man jumped to his death from a 27th floor flat on a Sau Mau Ping estate last night after murdering his wife and seriously injuring his mother and a daughter.

It was the third murder-suicide involving married couples within a month and the second murder this year committed by a mentally ill person.

The man, aged 55, who sold chicken in a market, was declared dead at Sau Yat House, Sau Mau Ping Estate, at 9.30pm, about 20 minutes after police had been called to the building because of a disturbance. The wife, 48, was found in the family flat with multiple chop wounds to her face, head and arms. She was taken to United Christian Hospital, where she was declared dead.

The man's mother and his eldest daughter, aged 17, who also suffered multiple chop wounds, were being treated in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Another daughter, aged 15, who sustained minor injuries to her legs, was in United Christian Hospital.

Wong Cheung-ming, police commander of Sau Mau Ping division, said the tragedy was triggered when the man refused his family's requests to take medication for his mental condition.

On April 21, a man leapt to his death after killing his wife at home in Sai Wan Ho. Four days later another man committed suicide in Choi Hung after murdering his wife in a love hotel in Sham Shui Po.

On January 30, a 53 year-old mentally ill man chopped a security guard to death in Sheung Shui's Choi Yuen Estate. The case raised fears that the medical system is failing to identify and care for the mentally ill.

The murder-suicide cases prompted calls from social welfare services for families with problems to seek help.

It was the seventh murder in the city in the last five weeks and brought the total for the year to eight.